Ukraine's Ministry of Justice reiterated the state's exclusive right to register religious organizations

The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine has officially instructed its interregional offices to strictly comply with the law when conducting state registration of religious organizations. The ministry emphasized the need for strict compliance with the legal provisions governing the registration of legal entities and public organizations.

According to , the Judicial and Legal Gazette, the Ministry of Justice’s letter explains in detail the division of powers among the entities responsible for registration procedures. According to the law, the central executive authority overseeing religious affairs is authorized to register religious centers, administrative bodies, monasteries, brotherhoods, missions, and religious educational institutions.

At the same time, the registration of religious communities is entrusted to the Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, as well as to regional, Kyiv, and Sevastopol city state administrations. The Ministry of Justice has directed that a large-scale outreach campaign be conducted among state registrars and notaries to prevent errors in determining jurisdiction and applying the law in this area.

As a reminder, we previously reported that the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (GESS) is embarking on a new phase of inspections of religious organizations to determine their affiliation with the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC).